Environmental justice in France? A spatio-temporal analysis of incinerator location

Abstract

The concept of Environmental Justice (EJ) refers to social inequities in the distribution of environmental risks. This paper presents the first European spatio-temporal EJ analysis, focusing on the location of 107 waste incinerators in France since the 1960s to assess potential biases in siting decisions. It uses a spatial econometric analysis that accounts for vulnerable populations at the time unwanted land uses were sited. We find that, after controlling for a town's socio-economic characteristics and the opportunity costs represented by the demand of its neighbours, each additional 1% of a town's population that is foreign-born increased the odds that the town received an incinerator by 29%. Disproportionate siting near concentrations of immigrants thus generates environmental injustice in France.